List of Persian/Iranian Events for 2009-06-17

Shab-e She’r, A Night of Persian Poetry at the Bowery Poetry Club

Please join us for New York City’s only regular series of Persian poetry, Shab-e She’r on Wednesday, June 17th, 6pm-8pm. We have two fantastic authors who will be joining us: Charlotte Noruzi, who will read from her new book Urban Iran which is co-authored with Salar Abdoh, and Saïd Sayrafiezadeh who will read from his new book, When Skateboards Will Be Free at the Bowery Poetry Club, 308 Bowery, (Between Houston and Bleecker). For more info please call 212-614-0505 or bowerypoetry.com. $6
Charlotte Noruzi was born in Tehran, moving to the U.S. in 1977. She is an author-illustrator-designer based in New York City. Urban Iran is a depiction of everyday life apart from international and diplomatic policies, giving voice to people living and working in Iran today while probing the complexities of contemporary Iran. Described and revealed by photographers, writers and visual artists, from street art to heavy metal bands and book publishing, Urban Iran documents how the Western media gaze influences how much of the world views Iran, but also how this gaze impacts how Iranians see themselves, especially in the realm of the creative arts.

Saïd Sayrafiezadeh is a writer and dramatist. He was born in Brooklyn, New York in 1968 to an Iranian father and a Jewish-American mother, both of whom were members of the Socialist Workers Party. He was raised in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. http://www.sayrafiezadeh.com/) When Skateboards Will Be Free: A Memoir of a Political Childhood was published by Dial Press in March 2009. Dwight Garner, writing in the New York Times, called it “exacting and finely made… [written] with extraordinary power and restraint.” It was chosen as one of the 7 Best Books of the month by Amazon. And Barnes & Noble has selected it for the “Discover Great New Writers” upcoming summer season. Saïd’s stories and essays have appeared in The Paris Review, Granta, Open City, and other publications.
Be sure to bring your own work or favorite Iranian poetry to read during the open mic portion of the event!
Hosting between 20 and 30 shows a week the Bowery Poetry Club (BPC) is proud of our place in the lineage of populist art: the Yiddish theater, burlesque, vaudeville, beat poetry, jazz, and punk that gave the Bowery its name. ###